Donie Cassidy (Fianna Fail)

——so the Minister will be present for the submissions of all the spokespersons on this very serious challenge facing our country, the Government and the people in general. I invite every Senator to make a contribution in the House next Friday.

Senators O'Toole, Coghlan, John Paul Phelan and Healy Eames called for a debate on education. I have made a commitment on this matter and it is not fair to suggest otherwise. I was successful in having the debate on agriculture take place, and the Minister for Finance will be in the House to debate the issue of the economy. Any time anything has been asked of me I have done my utmost to facilitate the requests of Members.

As was confirmed on "Questions and Answers" last night, an extra 3% was allocated in the budget for education. Perhaps it is not as much as we want to see but it is an extra 3% funding. As the acting leader of Fine Gael, Senator Buttimer, knows, his party wants to cut the allocation by 3%.